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Major banks today permit their customers to make a certain number of transactions free of cost at ATMs every month. SBI or State Bank of India for example, currently allows its customers maintaining a monthly average balance above Rs 25,000 in the previous month unlimited transactions free of cost at its group ATMs. That means if you are an SBI customer and you maintain a monthly average balance (MAB) of more than Rs 25,000, you are eligible to avail this service. The country's largest bank also allows unlimited free transactions at ATMs of other banks to customers maintaining an MAB of more than Rs 1 lakh, according to SBI's website - sbi.co.in. Similarly, private sector peers ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also allow their customers to make free transactions at ATMs every month under certain conditions.

The number of permitted free transactions at ATMs in a month depends on factors such as location of ATM - metro or non-metro - and the owner of ATM - whether it is owned by the home bank or any other bank.

Here's a look at the number of free ATM transactions allowed by SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank to their customers every month, and the charges levied for additional transactions thereafter:

State Bank of India (SBI)

SBI allows its customers to make unlimited transactions at State Bank group ATMs free of cost under certain conditions. The customer is required to have maintained a certain monthly average balance in the previous month to be eligible for this service. For example, if the customer maintains an MAB of more than Rs 1 lakh in a month, he or she is allowed to make unlimited transactions at State Bank group ATMs the next month, according to the bank's website.

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Previous month MAB in savings bank account

Charges beyond permitted number of free transactions

Unlimited transactions via mobile/internet banking

Above Rs 25,000

Rs 5 for financial transactions

Unlimited transactions at other bank ATMs

Above Rs 1 lakh

Rs 20 for financial transactions; Rs 8 for non-financial transactions

Unlimited transactions at State Bank group ATMS

Above Rs 25,000

Rs 10 for financial transactions; Rs 5 for non-financial transactions

If the customer is not able to meet the conditions that make him or her eligible for unlimited transactions at ATMs in a month, there are certain charges that apply for any transactions above the permitted monthly limit of free transactions. For any such transactions at SBI group ATMs, the bank levies a fee of Rs 10 for every financial transaction - which means a transaction involving cash - and Rs 5 for every non-financial transaction.

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ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank allows its regular savings account customers to make three transactions free of cost every month at its own ATMs, according to the bank's website - icicibank.com. This includes transactions of financial as well as non-financial nature. In case of ATMs of other banks, ICICI Bank allows such customers three transactions free of cost in six metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad) every month. Outside these metros, the bank allows five transactions free of cost every month. In both cases, the transactions include those of financial as well as non-financial nature, according to the ICICI Bank website.

Additional transactions - over and above the permitted number of free transactions in any case - are charged at Rs 20 per financial transaction and Rs. 8.50 per non-financial transaction, according to ICICI Bank.

HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank allows customers holding savings and salary accounts with it five transactions free of cost every month at its own ATMs, according to its website - hdfcbank.com. At ATMs of other banks, HDFC Bank allows such customers three transactions free of cost in metros and five transactions free of cost in non-metros, according to the bank.